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Earthwatchers surveyed the rainforest of the Ecuadorian Andes for birds, plants, spectacled bears, pumas, ocelots, and other animals.

The Santa Lucía Reserve is home to more than 320 species of birds, thousands of plant species, and an estimated 45 species of mammals. In this stunning cloud forest, volunteers hiked through mountainous terrain toward a different research assignment each day.
They helped survey key bird and large mammal species and vegetation types to determine their abundance and distribution. This information provided reserve managers with accurate scientific data to create habitat and species action plans aimed at protecting an area of habitat that stretches from Ecuador into Colombia.

Volunteers also helped set up camera traps to record the presence of mammals, conducted bird surveys, explored the astoundingly diverse invertebrate and amphibian communities that make their home in the bromeliads of the cloud forest, and surveyed trees to determine the carbon storage of the reserve. They identified and photographed animal tracks around the camera traps, measured and counted trees, and identified species of orchids and other plants. In their recreational time, volunteers enjoyed pickup games of soccer or volleyball, took part in fiestas and dances in nearby towns, and hiked to gorgeous waterfalls.

Lead scientists

Accommodations and food

Why the research is important

Why the research is important

The Ecuadorian Andes is one of the top 25 biodiversity hotspots worldwide.

Continuing deforestation and climate change threaten the incredibly diverse plants and animals of the Ecuadorian Andes.

The western slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. Of all the species of plants in the world, 6.7% are endemic to this region (that is, they are found nowhere else), as are 5.7% of the world’s vertebrate species. Ecuador is home to some 1,600 bird species (about twice as many as in North America, Europe, or Australia). This astonishing diversity and the fact that more than 70% of the original habitat has been lost earned the Ecuadorian Andes a place among the top 25 biodiversity hotspots worldwide.

Volunteers surveyed the astounding biodiversity of a tropical Ecuador rainforest.

The Santa Lucía Cloud Forest Reserve, where this research took place, is at the center of the Choco-Andean corridor, a protected area that was set up to link critical tropical Ecuador forests with the forests of Colombia. Scientists worked to determine if wildlife uses this corridor effectively. This monitoring program provided crucial information for reserve and corridor management and insight into the impacts of climate change on species distribution and forest dynamics.

About the research area

Santa Lucia Reserve, Ecuador, South America

The Santa Lucía Cloud Forest Reserve is a protected forest northwest of the Ecuadorian capital of Quito that spans an altitude of 4,590 to 8,530 feet (1,400 to 2,600 meters). It contains more than 320 species of birds, thousands of plant species, and an estimated 45 species of mammals, including jaguarondi, ocelot, Andean cat, puma, the raccoon-like coatimundi, and spectacled bear. Native plants include an amazing variety of orchids, bromeliads, and other epiphytes.

Santa Lucía is a community-based organization formed by local rural families to conserve and protect the cloud forest, develop sustainable sources of income for the members, and benefit the residents of neighboring areas. Santa Lucía has won awards for ecotourism and offers a model of what a community-owned and community-run organization can achieve in terms of responsible tourism, conservation, and development.

Santa Lucia Reserve, Ecuador

Daily life in the field

Itinerary

Day 2: Training, fieldwork, start of evening discussion series and workshops

Days 3–5: Fieldwork: surveys of cats, bears, birds, and reptiles; dinner, social event, or seminar; reptile surveys on some nights

Day 6: Recreational day (travel, bird-watching, relaxation)

Days 7-10: Fieldwork

Day 11: Return trek, travel to Quito

Scientists trained volunteers on all aspects of the research, including camera-trapping, surveying animal populations, collecting and preparing botanical samples, analyzing bird survey data, and using data from capture and recapture of animals in traps to estimate population features. Volunteers learned about topics like the biodiversity, geography, and ecology of Ecuador; threats to wildlife and the importance of conservation; mammal conservation and the role of monitoring; climate change and Andean forests; climate change and biodiversity; and what they could do for conservation after returning home.

On one day of each team, volunteers visited the nearby Tulipe Cloud Forest and the archaeological sites of the Yumbo civilization, which flourished from around A.D. 800 until the Spanish conquest of Ecuador in the 1600s. In Tulipe they saw the remains of tolas (moundlike structures thought to have been used as ceremonial structures and dwellings), as well as Yumbo petroglyphs, sunken bathing pools, and trading paths. Some teams also visited the Mindo Cloud Forest, home to many rare bird and orchid species.

ABOUT Mika Peck

MEET THE OTHER SCIENTISTS

Accommodations and Food

Accommodations and Food

Stay at a comfortable lodge

Jungle camping may be possible

Western and Ecuadorian food options

You’ll stay at the very comfortable Santa Lucía Lodge. You may also have a chance to camp higher in the forest to collect bird data. Santa Lucía Lodge sleeps about 22 people in double and single beds and bunks. The lodge has hot showers—with spectacular views of the forest.

Team members and all expedition staff eat together in a communal dining area. Meals combine traditional Ecuadorian and international recipes, and, where possible, use organic produce from the lodge garden. Foods include both standard Western items (bread, eggs, juice) and Ecuadorian specialties such as lapingachos (potato and cheese cakes).